Scots law has developed incrementally towards a more commercial model over the last generation, and leading edge firms are changing their thinking to become more akin to corporate models. In the next of our continuing series looking at management practice, Steven Raeburn caught up with Burness chairman Philip Rodney and learns how the firm are adapting lessons learned from the Ivy League.

In his four years as chairman of Burness, Philip Rodney has certainly acquired a carefree demeanour, despite what must be the undoubted pressures of his work. But why wouldn’t he be? There is much to envy in the task he has been charged with undertaking for the firm, and the manner in which he accomplishes it. The particular balance he has been able to strike seems to suit him very comfortably, and there are few things that create a successful professional as well as ensuring they are happy.

Rodney’s role as chairman centres around a combination of devising strategy for the long term and representing the outward facing function of the firm, roles which involve a high degree of interaction with like minded professionals and new business contacts. This suits him just fine, given the possible distractions of the hands on day to day operation of a commercial legal business.

“We have separated out governance and strategy: the operations board is charged with the day to day running of the business. If you have a one board system, if dictaphones and mergers are both on the agenda, dictaphones get all the airtime, and you won’t get round to discussing the strategic issues. The idea was to separate these out,” he says.

“My responsibility is to look to the bigger strategic picture, to look forward, look at trends and where we want to be in the market, focus on what the offering is, look at new income streams for the business. Communications and business development tend to be the things I work on. I tend to be more of a big picture person. It’s a natural fit.”

If you know Philip Rodney it is impossible to disagree, given his gregarious nature and inquisitive manner. One suspects he would be formidable in a professional tussle, but it is hard to imagine how someone so affable could ever get into one.

“We appointed executive coaches to work with our partners last year, and did some psychometric testing first. Partners fitted into different categories: some were detailed people, others were risk-averse; I was described as an adventurer, which I’m comfortable with.” Yeah, that works.

Philips Rodney’s adventures for Burness give him a wide latitude to explore the legal and business environment, draw what conclusions he can for the good of the business, and figuring out how to improve. Attaining such nebulous objectives allows a great deal of freedom and autonomy within the role.

“What I try to do is diagnose the issue, gather the information and then try to set objectives and evolve a methodology for delivering whatever it is we want to achieve,” he says.

“When I go to London there is a lot of fact finding from firms in the city, speaking to consultants, directors and journalists to get a feel for what is happening. I look at the economics and constantly revisit what our strategy is, and to focus down on what our firm is, what it stands for, and then try to project that into the market.”

As a result Rodney is out of the office for around one third of the time, although he is keen to retain as much of his day to day workload as can be achieved to ensure both client contact and professional sharpness.

“It gives me a better understanding of the day to day running of the practice and gives me much clearer relationships with clients. Sometimes it is a bit of a relief to step back from management work and focus on client work,” he says.

“It also gives you a degree more credibility with your partners. You are not just talking about the theory practicing law, you are actually doing it day to day. That is not uncommon in US law firms, where the chairman, senior partner or managing partners actually do substantial fee earning work.”

Rodney is keen to promulgate some of the better lessons to be learned from our business cousins in the United States, who have historically always had a sharper understanding of the interface between law and business, and where - unlike in Scotland - Masters degrees in business subjects are routinely, if not universally held as common currency among law firm senior partners.
“Lawyers should better understand their own businesses and their client businesses. David Maister of Harvard says lawyers should read less law journals and more trade journals. There is a lot of sense in that. We should really understand our clients businesses and sectors. In terms of managing a law firm, it is a big business; and you have to be professionally trained to do that,” Rodney argues.

“Harvard Business School run a fantastic, intensive course under their executive business programme which I did. People in my kind of position should do more of that, and read the textbooks on economics and management theory. We should be men and women of business in terms of the way we deliver our services to clients. We should really understand their businesses and sectors they operate in. We shouldn’t just be talking about the theory. We should be much more integrated in that sense. Separately, we must learn to be better professional managers.”

Even the best trained manager would have had an uphill struggle making a success of the last couple of financial years, although despite the worldwide, seemingly relentless cyclical downturn, Rodney believes there is work to be done and opportunities to be exploited.

“I began as chairman during a very productive phase for the economy. Undoubtedly now it is much more challenging. I am by nature an optimist. I have a client who says “when times are good you can make money. When times are bad, you can make a fortune”. I think there are a lot of opportunities,” he says.

“I also think the legal profession is going to look fundamentally different in three or four years’ time. Those firms that actually grapple with the problem and address it fairly radically may come out of it stronger than they were before. My job is to look at market trends and find out what is likely to be important a couple of years down the line, and to start planning now and invest in it. And maybe to make a limited investment in something now that may even be a wrong call, but at least try to and work it out, rather than react at the same time everyone else does.”

The drift towards market savvy commercialism has been underway for almost two decades now, and the imminence of alternate business structures is almost certain to accelerate that process. It is logical to surmise that firms which continue to operate a 20th (or even 19th) century model will swiftly wither, as indeed some have sadly done already. Business survival truly depends upon fitness for the environment, and the impending business cycle is likely to introduce change at a faster rate than at any time in modern legal history. There is much to be learned from Philip Rodney’s method.